Become a better lawyer: running a case, doing a deal, moving in-house and other tips from the top

There is, increasingly, a master-servant element to the relationship between lawyers and clients. Twenty years ago you wouldn’t have found yourself sending out a due diligence report at 4am. And you certainly wouldn’t have found yourself receiving an email five minutes later asking you to hang around in the office to deal with the response. Okay, that kind of thing isn’t exactly the norm, but it’s important to accept that clients are more demanding — and less loyal — these days.

Make sure you know how you’re expected to work. Large corporates usually like a say in the detail. Private equity houses, in contrast, tend to be fairly hands-off. There are, of course, exceptions — as I’ve found out to my cost on a couple of occasions.

Adapt your style to suit the nuances of the client’s industry. Private equity, which is my area of speciality, is all about the relationship between the private equity house and the individuals entrusted to manage the companies that have been invested in. Given that both parties have to work together over a period of several years, it’s essential that lawyers working in this area operate with a very subtle and delicate touch. Adopting a point-scoring, adversarial approach to negotiations — as I’ve often seen less experienced lawyers do — can be very damaging.

Context is key. It’s crucial that you find out exactly what the client’s aims are. A recent deal involved the acquisition of a target that included, amongst other things, a pension scheme with a number of rather complex legal problems associated with it. The scheme didn’t, however, feature prominently in the client’s plans for the future. If we’d overlooked this detail — which would have been fairly easy to do amidst the substantive aspects of the deal — there would have been a significant misapplication of resources.

Establish wide and deep connections. I’ve known Marek Gumienny, the managing director of private equity house Candover, for over 20 years and through him I’ve developed a range of other major contacts within the organisation. The greater the number of people you know in a company, the more angles you see it from and the better your overall perspective is on how it works. Likewise it helps if the client is comfortable dealing directly with more than one individual at your firm.

Make time for informal dialogue. No, “informal dialogue” is not a euphemism for indiscreet alcohol-fuelled chat. Off-the record information about what the client thinks about the job you’re doing is an integral part of the communication process. The setting in itself — maybe a football match or a restaurant — is usually enough to facilitate a more relaxed, franker exchange.

Certain things, however, need to be discussed in an official context. Fees, for example. Many years ago I handled an acquisition of a jewellery company. I remember checking the time records before completion and being horrified to find out that the costs were three times what I’d quoted at the beginning of the deal. The client was, unsurprisingly, extremely upset. They actually weren’t able to pay the full amount. That’s why formal reviews — where updates are given on the key issues — are so important.

Don’t take on work that you won’t be able to do properly. It’s very difficult to turn down a job that’s attractive and high profile. But sometimes you just don’t have the resources. Be brave, bite the bullet, and say to the client: “I’m terribly sorry but we don’t have the people to do that right now.” Doing a major job badly — indeed doing any job badly — can affect your ability to obtain instructions for years to come.

Pay attention. You’d be surprised how many mistakes arise from lawyers failing to listen properly. One memorable misunderstanding involved a request by a particular client for introductions in what my colleague assumed was the retail sector. A dinner was arranged, the relevant people attended and it all seemed to go fine, although the client group appeared a little subdued. The next day said colleague was informed that the request had been for introductions to people working in industrial services.

Fluidity is the way forward. For some reason in this country there is less status attached to working in-house than in a law firm. I’ve got no idea why. It’s certainly an attitude that I’d like to see broken down. The more lawyers move around — either through secondments or spells in permanent in-house positions — the better everyone will be able to understand each other.

Chris Hale is head of the corporate department at Travers Smith and a member of The Times Law Panel

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